Mitchell defends her party, policies

Wednesday

Oct 27, 2010 at 2:00 AM

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Elizabeth Mitchell said she gets a little tired of hearing her opponents rail against her and her party for spending the state into a hole — when she said the truth is quite different.

Deborah McDermott

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Elizabeth Mitchell said she gets a little tired of hearing her opponents rail against her and her party for spending the state into a hole — when she said the truth is quite different.

"Maine's budget is exactly the same size it was in 2005. We in the Maine Legislature have been extraordinarily responsible in putting together the budgets," said the current state Senate president, adding she was particularly pleased with the bipartisan support last session for a jobs bond that came about by compromise. "The last Maine Legislature passed five budgets, and each one was unanimous out of the Appropriations Committee. We had to cut the budget and we did, in a bipartisan way."

In the days leading up to the Nov. 2 election, Mitchell is fighting what has become a tough three-way battle. The latest Critical Insights poll released last Thursday showed Republican Paul LePage holding steady with 32 percent, where he's been polling for some time, with Mitchell at 20 percent and independent Eliot Cutler at 19 percent. That's a dip for Mitchell, who had been polling at around 28 percent.

She said she knew coming into this race that Democrats would have a tough time, but she said she finds it somewhat disingenuous that the Republicans are attacking her so blatantly.

"If there were easy answers, the Republicans should have come up with them. I would say to my Republican colleagues, 'You were there. Why didn't you fix it?'" she said. "Blame won't get us anywhere. There is no silver bullet. It's not going to be easy, so you have to ask, 'Who's the best person to get us where we need to go?'"

She said she is that person. First elected to the House in 1974, the Vassalboro resident has served as House majority leader, speaker of the House under former Gov. Angus King and currently as Senate president. She said she has proven she's a leader, and she's done that by keeping one simple dictum: "Nobody has a monopoly on the right answer."

Mitchell said she understands what is facing the next governor of Maine, including a shortfall over the biennium of as much as $1 billion, but she has the experience to tackle the problem.

For one, Mitchell said, she will institute lean management practices across the board in each department. She referenced a method used in business where resources are targeted to the customer and any other expenditures are considered wasteful and subject to elimination.

She said that practice needs to extend to school districts and municipalities, who must find ways to consolidate purchases and overhead. Mitchell said the likelihood of the state meeting its mandate to fund 55 percent of the cost of education is "not great. Everything has to be on the table." For that reason, she wants to bring schools and towns together with her administration to brainstorm solutions.

Regarding health care, she said she likes the approach used by companies like Cianbro, which are self-insured and place a high premium on wellness measures. She favors instituting a high risk pool, but would be hesitant to lop off required coverage.

Mitchell said she supports renegotiating the state liquor contract and placing the additional money generated into a trust fund to pay for preschool programs as a way to ensure more productivity for Mainers after high school graduation. She doesn't support combining the community college and university systems, saying "the savings are not there."

With no incumbent running this year, she said, "It's natural that many people are still trying to decide. They're tuning in now, and they're watching us closely. I want them to know that they have a seat at my table. This is one Maine, whether it's Piscataquis County or York County. And you can't afford not to keep building and growing."

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